Anniversary
by NoraLou1954
Summary: A peek into the future.


The following story is set four years after the events of season 6. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Anniversary**

 **By**

 **Nora Lou Wilson**

 **and**

 **Rebecca S. Smithey**

I woke up that morning, and even before I opened my eyes, I stretched my hand across the bed. My fingers reached out for the body of the woman who had shared my bed…and my life…for quite awhile now. I only touched the cool sheet. The other side of the bed was empty and I was alone.

My eyes snapped open.

"Happy Anniversary, Jackass!"

I turned my head and saw Vic standing in the open doorway holding a large mug of coffee in her hands. Barefoot, she stepped across the sanded plank floor and handed me the mug. To stall for time I sat up and sipped at the black liquid. My mind was racing and my heart was sinking. _Anniversary? Had I really forgotten something that important?_

"Anniversary?" I stammered. Boy, what eloquence.

"Not ours – **yours**. Four years ago today, you retired from the sheriff's office."

Four years? Had it really been that long? I reached out, intending to pull her into bed with me, but she quickly sidestepped. "No way – you made me take those cooking lessons – the least you can do is eat. Outta bed…now!"

By the time I pulled on my robe and came out, my plate was filled and another cup of coffee was waiting on me.

I looked around the quiet kitchen. "Where's the Munchkin?"

"Your oldest daughter took your youngest daughter shopping."

"Are they shopping…or _**Shopping/Shopping**_?"

"Well, they took your credit card, if that is a clue. I asked them to get a present for Ferg and Meg's baby shower."

I closed my eyes. "Do I really have to go to that shower?"

"No…but since we are hosting the party here, it's gonna be really damned hard to avoid."

After breakfast, I showered and dressed then headed down to the barn. I looked back up at the house where Vic sat on the porch reading one of my Dickens novels. She wore a pair of jeans and a halter top, but soon enough the baby bump would start to show and people would be throwing us another baby shower…boy howdy…

In the four years since my retirement, a lot of changes had happened at la casa Longmire. Thanks to a pair of young contractors that Henry knew, my cabin had actually morphed into a home. A large kitchen had been added to the back (complete with cabinet doors that Bob built during a special work release program out of the Tri-County Jail.) A wide wrap-around porch meandered gracefully around the house, with a hot tub gracing the back porch. Most importantly, three bedrooms and another bathroom had been added on. If Vic kept pushing babies out every few years, we were sure to need them. One of them was already being turned into a nursery and another belonged to a little girl who was so much like her mother it was scary.

Almost immediately after I retired I had gone off for some solitude and rest. I hated leaving Vic behind, but I had a duty to get Lucian's ashes scattered. I also had some idea about going after the treasure everyone was searching for all over the county. In true Lucian fashion, the old bastard had gone back over the clues in the poem and had decided that everyone else had been reading them wrong. He had planned to go off in an entirely different direction but he ran out of time. I used his map, followed his ideas….and sure enough, found the treasure. I buried Lucian's ashes in the hole where I found the windfall, along with some of the gold and a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle's that I had found in Lucian's room at the Durant Home for Assisted Living and brought along as a libation.

I used the treasure to renovate the cabin, take Vic on a real honeymoon, and lay a foundation for my new career. The barn on my property had also been renovated and a paddock had been constructed. I got my farrier's certification and became a horse rescuer. I took care of abused or abandoned horses, got vet care for them, got them rehabilitated then found good owners for them.

I was standing in the sunshine, currying one of my own horses, when I saw a small body leap from Cady's van and come flying down the hill from the driveway. She wore shorts and a Philadelphia Flyers jersey and her long blonde hair flew out behind her like a bright golden banner.

I scooped her up as she squealed "Hi, Daddy!"

"Hey Munchkin…did you and Cady have a good time?"

"Yeah…we did…we…goed to Kmart!"

"You went to Kmart," I gently corrected.

"That's what I say!"

Holding her like that, I could see that she wore her long knee socks, but no shoes.

"Lacey, where are your shoes?"

She looked very seriously down at her feet. "I no know….I look for dem…horsies wear shoes….maybe dey down here?"

She was a lot like her mother, but she was also born blonde. She had been named after Vic's favorite television detective and had been born about a year after my retirement. I was surprised to discover that I really enjoyed being around her all the time. I had not been able to do that when Cady was small, and I was hoping that being a better father to Lacey would…somehow…make up for being an absentee father to Cady.

Those thoughts ran through my mind as I watched my eldest daughter and my second wife coming toward the barn. Vic was carrying a small pair of sneakers.

"Hi, Dad," Cady said as she came closer, running one hand appreciatively along the horse's sleek neck.

"Thanks for taking the Munchkin shopping with you, Punk."

"No problem…"

Lacey's eyes suddenly danced with glee. "Daddy…you won't believe what this lady at the Kmart said to Cady." She lowered her voice to a whisper…."this lady….she thought Cady was my mommy!"

"No!" I put on a shocked face.

"Very funny, Dad."

My three favorite women shared a laugh and then Vic brought the tiny high tops to Lacey.

"Mommy! You finded my shoes!"

"Yes I finded them," Vic said.

"Found them…" I corrected.

"That's what I said" they crowed in unison then they all began to laugh.

I was DEFINITELY the only English major in this house.

Vic was trying to be gruff. "Of course I found your shoes. They were just outside Cady's car; you must have pulled them off while you were still in your car seat and knocked them out when you jumped out to greet your father."

I looked down to Vic's bare feet. "Like Mother, like daughter…" I muttered.

Vic shot me a dirty look then pulled Lacey's shoes onto her feet, but only after pretending to nibble her toes. Our daughter dissolved into giggles.


End file.
